Extinct California Tapir (Tapirus californicus) Fact Sheet: Summary

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Perissodactyla - horses, rhinos, tapirs

Family: Tapiridae - tapirs

Genus: Tapirus                              

Species: Tapirus californicus (Merriam, 1913) - California tapir (extinct)

Body Weight
Estimated somewhat less than 225 kg (496 lb)

Body Length
Estimated 140 cm (4.6 ft); no known complete fossil skeletal remains

Pelage
Unknown

Range
Coastal southern California

Habitat
Forests, woodlands, perhaps grassland, especially near rivers and lakes

Status
Species went extinct by 13,000 years ago

Social Behavior
Believed to have been solitary

Interspecies Interactions
Similar to modern tapirs, may have played a role in dispersing seeds and fertilizing fruiting trees.

Diet
Assumed to be like living tapirs, eating leaves, aquatic plants, fruits, and seeds

Feature Facts

• Tapir-like mammals were once diverse with a world-wide in distribution; today, only four living (extant) species live in tropical latitudes in Central and South America
• Extant tapirs thought to be very similar to extinct tapir species
  
• Short, muscular proboscis (nose)
  
• California tapirs may have enjoyed wallowing in the mud, like modern tapirs